Field
The present invention generally relates to a charger with a fan in a housing of the charger. More specifically, embodiments disclosed herein relate to a charger with a fan positioned near an opening in a housing of the charger such that the fan may intake air from outside the charger and distribute the air to cool a battery attached to the charger.
Background Art
A battery, known in the art as a type of electrochemical cell configured to store and supply electric current, may be heated while being charged. Further, discharge of the battery and/or otherwise supplying electric current from the battery may also result in heating of the battery. Thus, cooling of the battery may enhance overall battery operation and efficiency. Accordingly, various types of commercially available batteries, battery chargers and/or other related devices employ cooling fans to cool batteries to enhance overall battery efficiency. For example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2013-192282 discloses a battery charger with a fan positioned to cool a battery when charged. In detail, the fan disclosed by Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2013-192282 receives air taken from an intake port formed in a side of a housing of the battery charger to circulate the air toward the battery-attaching portion of the charger. Accordingly, the location of the fan and the configuration and/or placement of the battery within the battery charger housing allows for the fan to effectively direct air toward the battery to cool the battery. As a result, battery temperature may be regulated to effectively and/or timely charge the battery. However, the intake port in the housing of the battery charger may allow water, debris and/or other undesirable substances to enter into the housing and potentially disrupt the functioning of electronic componentry, such as a circuit board, mounted within the housing of the battery charger. Thus, protecting the circuit board by, for example, mounting it at a distance apart from the intake may be desirable to ensure regular and reliable battery charger functioning.
However, mounting the circuit board a distance apart from the intake port, as described above, may require a relatively larger and/or longer housing of the battery charger. As a result, the amount of room needed to install and/or place the battery charger on a work site may also increase proportionately. Such a larger and/or longer charger may be undesirable for an operator who may want to, for example, quickly move from one area to another.
In view of the above, a need exists in the art for a compact and transportable battery charger with an integrated battery cooling capability to ensure regular battery charging operation.